DEMARCHE DELIVERED: FRANCO-AMERICAN PROPOSAL ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L BEIJING 022493 SIPDIS SIPDIS IO/PSC JOHN SANDAGE, L/EB TOM HEINEMANN, USUN DAVID TESSLER E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/23/2016 TAGS: PREL PTER UNSC CH SUBJECT: DEMARCHE DELIVERED: FRANCO-AMERICAN PROPOSAL ON REMOVING NAMES FROM UN TERRORIST LIST REF: SECSTATE 174057 Classified By: Political External Unit Chief Edgard Kagan. Reasons 1.4 (b/d) ¶1. (C) Beijing will review carefully the Franco-American proposal on removing names from the list of those targeted for sanctions under UNSCR 1267, according to MFA IO Department UN Division Deputy Director Yao Shao Jun. Poloff and French Counselor Erkki Maillard delivered reftel points October 24 and a copy of the text of the joint proposal, which DD Yao said he had not yet seen. When asked if Beijing had received any reaction to the proposal from the Chinese Mission in New York, DD Yao stated New York had not yet raised the issue or asked for instructions from Beijing. After briefly reviewing the proposal, Yao asked if the UN 1267 Committee really needed another entity to handle de-listing. French Counselor Maillard responded that the proposal does not call for the creation of new organ but for the creation of a focal point within the existing UN Secretariat Sanctions Branch. Emphasizing that China SIPDIS believes the 1267 Committee must take a strict approach to both listing and delisting entities, Yao said Beijing would review the proposal carefully and that it could be further discussed either in Beijing or in New York. Randt